Guest post by Gyanendra Shukla
Dr. Peter Openheimer, a Stanford University graduate, faced adversity in both his personal life and his career. Personally, he was devastated after his separation from his lady love, and professionally, he lost a consulting contract.
His battered self-esteem led him to believe that life was devoid of any meaning, and he began to drift apart. Following the hippie trail, he landed up India. This event changed his life forever.
Mirror by the Road is a journey of his personal transformation from a troubled mind to a trouble-shooter (he became a counselor and therapist in Northern California after his return to the USA).
His inner darkness or ignorance, the cause of bondage and suffering, was illuminated by the light of knowledge which he acquired with the help of a Guru (one who dispels darkness). This Guru acted as a ‘Mirror’ to bring about the liberating experience and ultimate happiness.
Though no literary masterpiece, this book, in simple language, captures the scenes of rural India, especially Kerala, the kindness of strangers and the friendships struck with the locals.
It emphasizes on the life spent in the Ashram of his Guru who helped him understand the meaning of ‘’tat tvam asi’’ (That thou art) and self as a part of cosmic energy by recognizing one’s own self, mirrored in the faces of all human beings.
For him India was a state of mind than a place because it helped him travel the distance from ‘I am happy’ to ‘I am happiness’.
Published by Inner Wealth Press, California, 1988
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